Pethapur Block Making
Govindbhai Prajapati, 76:
Govindbhai Prajapati is known to be a perfectionist and famous for a clean, sharp finish on his motifs and marblelike white appearance. He works primarily for the Khatri printers of Bagh, Madhya Pradesh, and has been for decades.
Govindbhai, however, remains skeptical of others' work and claims to be the best among the artisans of Pethapur. One can perhaps see merit in his claim, but that has managed to sour relationships with certain other craftsmen, including his son Satish. Yet, his experience and skill are undeniable.
Dahyabhai Prajapati, 80:
Dahyabhai Prajapati is now the seniormost artisan in the village and a master of the craft, though he no longer practices the craft due to poor eyesight and health issues that are characteristic of senility. He started learning the craft at the age of 12 and moved to Mumbai for Work at the age of 14, making his career an artisan nearly seven decades-long. Nevertheless, he still sometimes helps his son Dahyabhai Prajapati with the etching of blocks and plays an advisory role in selecting design and maintaining a high level of quality of the blocks.
There was a time, Dahyabhai says when the craft was still profitable relative to the prices of common household items at the time. He even employed craftsmen under him and taught the craft to numerous others in the village. He most commonly used to work for Ahmedabad's Saudagiri printers, a tradition he was a master in but shifted to Ajrakh printing in Kutch eventually. Today, he is a living vessel of the knowledge of the craft and, along with the Govindbhai, one of the only two or three craftsmen in the village who have the skill of synthesizing or 'drawing' new designs.
Chetanbhai Prajapati, 40:
Chetanbhai Prajapati is the son of master craftsman Dahyabhai Prajapati, who passed down the craft to his son. He has been practicing this craft since the age of 16 and is part of what Dahyabhai fears might be the last generation of craftsmen to pick up this craft. Chetanbhai is an incredibly skilled craftsman himself and worthy of being called a master of the craft, though he doesn't design his motifs, something which his father wishes he did. When he came into the craft, he joined his father in making blocks for Kutch's Ajrakh printers, which has become his main source of work.
Though his loves the craft and expresses that through his work ethic and fine creation, he sometimes wishes he had completed his education and laments how difficult it can be to support his three children and wife working as an artisan since pay is abysmally incongruent with the work required to make good-quality blocks. Despite this, Chetanbhai and Dahyabhai have been able to spread the word of the craft too far beyond Pethapur, attracting tourists from all around the world to this village with whom they openly share this craft, its processes, and its beauty.
